"You have all seen them" by Reverend Greg LaDue
All of us have seen “them”. As we drive around town we inevitably come to a stop light and find a disheveled person standing there with a sign asking for help and assistance. Always ending with “God Bless You” as if to remind us that God loves a cheerful giver and it is our as Christians to care for others… at times it feels a bit manipulative. After all if I give them money how do I know I am not enabling them to buy drugs or alcohol.
Just last Sunday a young man came into the church office on Sunday morning and I was not in one of our worship services so I took him to get a cup of coffee and listen to a story I was sure I had heard before from other like him.
He had on shorts and it was a very cold morning. He wanted some clothes and money for a trolley pass. We don’t give out cash, but Brenda Blake and Nancy Pritchett helped me package up some food and I had a McDonalds gift card I had purchased from our Hearts of Christianity Class. They sell them so we can give them out instead of cash. You can get them on Sunday mornings in Linder Hall for $5, but I felt a bit “worked”. I eventually gave that young man $10 cash, because I realized I am called to give... he is responsible for how he uses that money.
We all have seen them and had our encounters with them. But two members of our church had an encounter with one over a period of years. His name was Harry, and he had a story. Gary and Myrna Cox who sing in our choir and they used to see Harry every winter when they were commuting between here and Colorado. He caught their attention and over the years they learned Harry’s story. They eventually published a book about their relationship with him titled “Harry”.
They gifted me a copy just before Christmas and I finally sat down to read it. Gary and Myrna have become friends I respect, but I did not expect the story to affect me the way it did.
Harry was a person, not a category. This blog is not the place to tell the entire story, and, really, it isn’t mine to tell. But I invited Gary and Myrna to come to the 8 AM, Koinonia class and share their story of their relationship with Harry. It had quite an impact.
In Matthew 25 there is a place where Jesus says, “when you have done it unto the least of these, you have done it unto to me.” Then there is that pesky “Good Samaritan” story. Gary and Myrna, and their friend Harry, reminded me of these stories from scripture. Jesus calls us to close the distance and see the person, not the category.
They also reminded me that as long as we categorize people as “them” and those” we relate to them as a group, not as individuals with unique lives and stories... but as human beings.
Harry wasn’t lazy. Harry was lost. Gary and Myrna found him and treated him as an individual with a story. And it is a good story. Labels keep people at a distance. We have a fund in Harry’s name you can give to. Call the Finance office or me for more information.[Pastor Greg LaDue]
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